The Drop In - Tame Your Tabs

Edition 005

Author

Michael V Puhala
July 24, 2025

The Drop In — Edition 005
Tame Your Tabs, Tame Your Mind
Your Flow-State OS for Peak Performance

The Simplicity of Singular Focus

Think about your favorite activity or hobby. Now think about your ideal state of mind while doing it. Chances are, you’re fully present—immersed, focused, undistracted.

For me, that activity is riding motorcycles (with skiing a close second). When I’m on two wheels, every ounce of attention is committed to the road ahead: the lean of the next turn, the feel of the throttle, the sound of the engine. There’s no room for distraction. No room for mental clutter. Just clarity and presence. It’s not something I try to access—it’s something the activity demands.

That’s flow.
And while we can’t always live on a motorcycle or a mountain, we can design our digital environments to invite that same deep focus.

The Problem with Too Many Tabs

Let’s be real—if your browser looks like a digital junk drawer, you’re probably not in flow.

Each tab is a mental open loop. The more tabs you have, the more your brain tries to subconsciously keep track of them. That cognitive load creates friction. And that friction kills momentum.

In Edition 002, we broke down the Price of Context Switching. Today, we zoom in on one of the biggest context culprits: your browser.

The 5-Tab Framework

The rule is simple: Never have more than five tabs open at once.

Here’s your core stack:

  1. Email – For scheduled checks (not constant glancing)

  2. Calendar – Your compass for the day

  3. Messaging App – Slack, Teams, etc. (with distractions minimized)

  4. Focus Tab #1 – The thing you’re actively working on

  5. Focus Tab #2 – If you’re referencing or bouncing between tasks

All others? Archive, close, or store them somewhere more productive (see below). For really advanced Flow Masters: Email & Calendar tabs are only open during scheduled sessions two times per day. Baby steps…

I am reluctant to suggest that your work messaging app or tab be always open. This is a flow killer in general. If it’s not realistic to only use messaging apps during scheduled blocks, then I suggest quiet hours where you turn off notifications.

🛠️ Workflowy: Your Overflow Valve

Open tabs often reflect open thoughts—things we’re not ready to act on, but don’t want to forget. Enter: Workflowy.

This minimalist bullet-based tool is my go-to for:

  • Capturing random thoughts before they derail me

  • Bookmarking links with notes, so I can close the tab

  • Organizing reference material, to-do lists, and research

  • Creating a taggable, searchable system that scales with me

Workflowy keeps my brain and my browser light.

I wrote an entire review of Workflowy over at my blog:

Workflowy - Beautiful Simplicity — puhala.com

In a digital landscape crowded with productivity tools promising to revolutionize the way we work, Workflowy stands out by doing the opposite--it doesn't try to dazzle or overwhelm. Instead, it quietly impresses. With a minimal interface and a bullet-point backbone, Workflowy embraces simplicity in

www.puhala.com/musings/2025/7/24/workflowy-beautiful-simplicity

Flow Follows Tab Discipline

Distraction is often a design problem. And flow starts with intentional design.

The fewer tabs, the fewer decisions.
The fewer decisions, the deeper the focus.
The deeper the focus, the faster you drop in.

Try the 5-tab rule for one full day. Use Workflowy as your link archive and thought inbox. Watch your mind quiet down. Watch your focus ramp up.

Until Next Time

Be ruthless with tabs. Be gentle with your mind.
Drop in. Stay in.

— Michael

Founder, The Drop In
& Author of ‘Human Traits — a novel exploring humanity’s relationship with AI’